Thunder’s Tre Mann Looks Primed For Breakout Season

“A couple of players I look up are Steph Curry and Damian Lillard,” said Tre Mann in his rookie introductory press conference last summer. “Those guys are able to shoot off the dribble. I just try to take a little bit from everyone’s game and add it to mine.”

While the rising Thunder guard still isn’t anywhere near the player those two are, he is already emerging as a lethal scorer.

Even as a rookie last season, the 6-foot-5 playmaker had some pretty significant performances. In fact, the No. 18 overall pick in the 2022 NBA Draft cemented himself as one of the top scoring rookies in Oklahoma City history.

The beginning of February was when things started to click for Mann, as he started gaining national attention. In that month alone, he scored at least 20 points four times including a 30-point outing against the New York Knicks in Madison Square Garden.

Roughly a month later, Mann took things to a new level as he started producing 20-point quarters. Over a span of three games in March, he put together two separate quarters in which he scored 20 points in that frame alone.

One of these was against the Orlando Magic, where he actually went 7-of-7 in the first half from beyond the arc, tying a Thunder rookie record. This led to 23 points in the second quarter alone, which was also an Oklahoma City rookie record. From there, he finished the game with 35 points which gave him the nod for most points ever scored in a game by a Thunder rookie.

As good as Mann was last season, what held him back was inconsistency. Whether that was possession-by-possession or game-by-game, he wasn’t able to consistently produce points efficiently.

Entering his second season, the former first rounder has a chance to truly break out.

At Media Day late last month, Mann looked visibly stronger and had a more built frame. He mentioned that he had a re-designed meal program, was eating cleaner and working out a ton over the summer. Splitting time between Miami and Oklahoma City, it was all about working on his body.

“That was the main focus. Getting stronger, bigger and putting more weight on,” Mann said. “The biggest thing was eating the right things and taking my protein at night.”

Early in training camp, several of Mann’s teammates pointed him out as someone that seemed to have taken a step. Even Thunder coach Mark Daigneault alluded to him looking great in camp.

When Oklahoma City’s preseason slate kicked off earlier this week, it was time for Mann to showcase this growth.

In his first preseason game against the Denver Nuggets, Mann looked great. A part of the starting lineup, he produced 17 points on just 11 shots while going 3-of-6 from deep.

Just a few days later in a contest against the Dallas Mavericks, some of that inconsistency appeared once again. Mann didn’t play bad, but he didn’t look like the same player as the game prior. He finished that second preseason game with just eight points while shooting 3-of-9 from the floor.

The second-year guard didn’t let that affect him heading into the second night of a back-to-back as the Thunder hosted the Adelaide 36ers. In this third preseason game, he was on fire. Mann finished Thursday’s contest with 26 points on an outstanding 8-of-10 clip from beyond the arc.

Again, it’s all about consistency. There’s no expectation that Mann scores 26 points every night, but the lows can’t be as low. When his shot isn’t falling, he also needs to find other ways to be impactful.

Mann will be in a pretty significant role off the bench this season, likely being the Thunder’s top reserve scorer. If he’s able to continue this improvement and become more consistent, he could be a legitimate breakout candidate this season.

It’s still early, but Mann truly appears to be on a similar trajectory to that of Jordan Poole and Anfernee Simons. He’s a natural scorer that can generate points in isolation as a self-creator.